Special to the GTA Construction Report
About $70,000 was raised Saturday Sept. 20th at a 10-kilometre walk in suburban Toronto for Renos for Heroes (RH) – a non-profit foundation that provides building services for Canadian military vets and their families.
Most of the money goes towards barrier-free construction at the homes of military veterans who have sustained physical injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder on the job, says Deryl Caruk, executive director of the program.
It is “giving back” to soldiers who have “given us so much to us,” says Durval Terceira, (seen in photo), who led the walk through the streets of Vaughan to finish at the Carpenters District Council of Ontario head office in Woodbridge.
It is the second year in a row Terceira, a business agent of Carpenters Local 1030, raised money for the program. Last year he walked 120 kilometres, making $40,000 for RH.
This year, the walk was short by comparison, but the donations were generous as Terceira and other volunteers walked the 10 kilometres from the Royal Canadian Legion in Vaughan to the Carpenters District Council of Ontario’s offices in Woodbridge.
Many of the financial contributions are from carpenters’ union locals across Canada – including the Carpenters District Council of Ontario – and affiliated construction associations. The Interior Systems Contractors Association of Ontario and the Alberta Regional Council of Carpenters each contributed $10,000 to this year’s walk.
The foundation’s partnership with the Carpenters Union has solidified since Renos was set up in 2010. “We’re just starting our seventh project (for veterans) now,” says Caruk, noting that the Ontario-based Renos for Heroes plans on expanding to help military veterans across Canada.
For more information, visit the Renos for Heroes website at www.renosforheroes.org.
